Removable display surface

ABSTRACT

A precisely measured removable cover for reusable beverage containers. A covering of independently resilient material is precisely cut to fit a given size and shape of pot, and the material has imprinted on it a desired promotional or advertising message and/or graphics. The covering material is removably fastened with releasable closures to the outside of the pot in such a way as not to impair significantly the natural independent resiliency of the material. Thus, dents in the pot do not generally show in the covering surface because it retains its independent resiliency, even if the blow was delivered through the covering surface. Messages may be changed as often as suits the promotional and decorative needs of the owner of the pot, so the display surface is always timely and in top condition. An optional “window” permits display of interchangeable labels on the inside of the covering. When the display surface is fully removed, the original surface of the pot is substantially restored to its former appearance. Optionally, a protective plastic covering or overlaminant is attached to the print side of the covering material, so that when the printed cover is in its removed state, the printing will not be accidentally damaged by scratching. Some embodiments employ a nylon fabric cover material with promotional printing.

[0001] This application is a division of Ser. No. 09/821,681 filed Mar.29, 2001, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/897,749 filed Jul. 21,1997, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,005.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The invention relates to a removable display surface for use as acover to a beverage container; more particularly, it relates to aremovable and precisely measured independently resilient cover forreusable beverage containers with a promotional or advertising messageprinted on the cover.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Many kinds of containers, and particularly beverage containers,are placed in public view, both commercially and privately used, andtherefore are appropriate for use as display surfaces for various kindsof advertising and promotion. Commercially, beverage containers are ondisplay containing coffee and other beverages; privately, thermosbottles may be viewed by others while in use, both by way of example.The container wall itself however is ill suited to a display surface asit readily becomes marred and disfigured, and the printing matter itselfis degraded, so that any such display is a poor display indeed for thesubject matter of the advertisement or promotion. As yet however, nofeasible and effective display surface has been proposed which may beattached to these beverage containers or other containers so as toadequately address the needs of current advertising and promotionalstandards.

[0004] In recent years, it has come to be recognized that old stylecoffee warmers and open coffee pots are not in the best interests of thedelicate flavor characteristics of a good brew of coffee. To that end,vacuum pots of various shapes and descriptions have become increasinglypopular and prevalent, especially in finer commercial coffee houses andrestaurants. Such a pot preserves desirable coffee serving temperaturewith reduced risk of, and exposure to, either burner heat scorching orair oxidation of the coffee esters. They also generally hold morecoffee, and can be made available for use and refills by customers inplaces that are not wired or not safe for warmer burners.

[0005] As mentioned, these pots are often highly visible to thecustomers and could become effective sign boards for the brand of coffeeor any other advertising an owner may wish to display in conjunctionwith the service of the coffee or other beverage. However, with thepassing of time and customer use and normal wear and tear (such as bydish washing operations), the vacuum pots themselves can take onunsightly dents and surface mars.

[0006] It has been suggested to permanently adhere a surface coveringthat is specially cut to fit the pot to the outside of the pot. Thiscovering can hold or display various advertising or promotional messagesand graphics. These covering systems however suffer from severaldisadvantages. Because they are permanently adhered to substantially theentire outside surface of the pot, they in effect become a second skin,and as such lose much if not all of the independent resiliency such acovering material might otherwise inherently have. Any blow or otherforce striking the skin will be transmitted to the pot as well, and anyresulting deformation in the pot surface will also show on the tightlyadhered covering skin. Also, if the advertising message becomes stale orotherwise out of date, or if the covering begins to show signs of wearor other distress, it must laboriously be removed in its entirety,leaving the pot covered in unsightly adhesive residue until it isrecovered, and this operation must be repeated every time it isdesirable to change the advertising message.

[0007] Other proposed covering systems require application of a heatshrinkable film to a container, with the disadvantages that such filmsare not readily, and certainly not non-destructively, removable, andrather less control of the kind and quality of printing that may beimprinted on the film, on its resultant resized surface, is possiblecompared with unshrunk covers.

[0008] Other covering system proposals disclose (1) a foam rubberbeverage can insulator with flexible sidewall and bottom member withslits on the bottom for expansion and contraction; (2) a wastebasket, orother open container, cover with a flexible sheet to wrap around theside wall of the basket, and clips to detachably interconnect the topand bottom edges of the sheet to the open rims of the container, andVelcro type closures to hold the ends together; and (3) a loose fittingsock-like covering to fit over standing water cooler bottles and thelike, or a free standing cylinder of rigid material resting on thecooler apparatus, with holes or viewing ports to show water level andprovide air circulation inside the covering.

[0009] What is needed is a feasible and effective display surface whichmay be attached to beverage containers or other containers so as toadequately address the needs of current advertising and promotionalstandards. In addition, it would be desirable for such a display surfaceto be easily and readily removable and to possess independent resiliency(and not be just a second skin tight layer). The desired removabledisplay surface would require only cover end attachment by releasableclosures, and would provide an excellent base medium for commercialprinting processes.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide afeasible and effective display surface which may be attached to beveragecontainers or other containers so as to adequately address the needs ofcurrent advertising and promotional standards.

[0011] It is a further object of the invention to provide in such adisplay surface an easily and readily removable wrap around cover.

[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a wrap aroundcover having independent resiliency.

[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a removabledisplay surface requiring only releasable closures for attachmenttogether of its cover ends.

[0014] It is another object of the invention to provide a removabledisplay surface in turn providing an excellent base medium forcommercial printing processes.

[0015] It is yet another object of the invention to meet any or all ofthe needs summarized above.

[0016] These and such other objects of the invention as will becomeevident from the disclosure below are met by the invention disclosedherein.

[0017] The invention addresses and overcomes these difficulties byproviding a method for making a precisely measured cover for reusablebeverage containers. A covering of independently resilient material isprecisely cut to fit a given size and shape of pot, and the material hasimprinted on it a desired promotional or advertising message and/orgraphics. The covering material is removably fastened to the outside ofthe pot in such a way as not to impair significantly the naturalresiliency of the material. For instance, in one embodiment the coveringis fastened to the pot by means of temporary fasteners such as Velcro®type hook and pile, magnets, removable tape, or the like. Thus, dents inthe pot do not generally show in the covering surface because it retainsits independent resiliency, even if the blow was delivered through thecovering surface. Messages may be changed as often as suits thepromotional and decorative needs of the owner of the pot, so the displaysurface is always timely and in top condition. An optional “window”permits display of interchangeable labels on the inside of the covering.When the display surface is fully removed, the original surface of thepot is substantially restored to its former appearance. Some of thecovers are to be transparent or translucent and are to have graphicimages back printed on them. Optionally, a protective plastic coveringor overlaminant is attached to the print side of the covering material,so that when the printed cover is in its removed state, the printingwill not be accidentally damaged by scratching. Some embodiments employa nylon fabric cover material with promotional printing.

[0018] The invention provides a flexible, removably fastened, preciselyfitted container cover having a graphical display imprinted on one sideof the cover. The graphical display may be advertising or promotionaltext and/or non-textual graphical images. The flexibility of thecontainer cover material is to facilitate ready application, removal andreapplication of the container cover to the same or differentcontainers, as often as may be necessitated by the need, for instance,to replace a worn or damaged cover, or to provide a differentpromotional message. By “precisely fitted” is meant that each cover ismeasured and cut to substantially exactly fit a particular container oridentically sized series of containers, where “fitting” means tosubstantially completely cover the side walls of the container,generally without overlap. In some instances however, some overlap maybe advantageously provided for the purpose of providing a fastenermounting surface to facilitate that no fastener parts need be attachedin any way to the container itself. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that variations of this dimensioning and fitting maybe effected to no particular purpose but to avoid the above definition,in which case such variations are to be regarded as within the scope ofthis invention. Generally, this invention will find application as acovering for beverage containers of the type used to serve coffee inpublic establishments; however, the invention is not limited to such aparticular container.

[0019] Some embodiments of the invention will include a transparentwindow in the cover, through which a “label” may be viewed through thewindow. A window is preferably a transparent region of the cover onwhich no graphic display has been imprinted, but may in some embodimentsbe effected with a separate transparent material sewn in or otherwiseassembled into the cover material itself. A “label” can either be anactual label, such as the name of the blend or beverage being dispensedfrom the container, or it can be any additional supplemental promotionalgraphical display information. The label is generally disposed over thewindow in such a way that the graphic material on the label can beviewed through the window, and the label is preferably attached to thewindow with a removable pressure sensitive adhesive. However, it will beappreciated that any conventional means for holding a piece of materialon which can be printed some graphical information, such as an openended clear envelope attached to one side of the container cover canadvantageously be employed to make the label viewable through thewindow. Preferred embodiments will have the label holder on the insideor rear surface of the container cover where it may readily be accessedby removing the cover, inserting or replacing the label and reattachingthe cover. This arrangement will provide both protection for the label,and facilitate integration of the label into the overall graphicaldesign of the cover.

[0020] Some embodiments of the invention will be made of a durable,preferably washable, woven fabric such as nylon ripstop or cordura, andthe graphical display is generally imprinted on a front surface of thecover material (“front printed”). Such embodiments may be removed forcleaning as well as for replacement to display different promotionalmessages. This embodiment will also be especially resistive todisplaying or revealing any surface imperfections of the containeritself, and will be better able to resist impact damage to the covermaterial itself. Preferred embodiments will have a second, or inner,fabric layer preferably made of a more tightly woven polyester materialfor additional resiliency and insulating value.

[0021] Other embodiments of the invention will be made of a resilienttranslucent material, such as clear plastic sheet, with the graphicaldisplay imprinted on a rear surface of the cover (“back printed”) tobetter protect the printing itself. Various materials may be employedsuch as printing grades of Lexan® brand plastic sheeting and variousvinyl sheet materials and all such plastics as will be known by thoseskilled in art to take and retain a high quality graphical imprint. Itwill generally not be necessary to take any special precaution or applyany selection criteria relating to heat shrinkability, or thermalstability, as the covering material will generally be removed from thecontainer prior to exposing the container itself to high temperaturewashing or sterilization. While thermally unstable material willtherefore generally not be preferred, its use will not depart from thescope of the invention.

[0022] Some embodiments will also employ an overlaminant layer disposedto cover the graphical display imprinted on the rear surface of theclear plastic sheet. Since some embodiments have no attachment whateverof the cover to the container itself, other than that provided by therelatively tight “wrap” of the cover on the container and the attachmentof one edge of the cover to itself, it is anticipated that some slidingof the cover as wrapped around some of the containers will produce somechaffing or wear of the back printed matter, and possibly somediscoloration or staining of the surface of the container itself. Evenwithout such sliding, the removal and replacement of the printed coverswill leave the printing exposed to possible damage while the cover isoff the container. To forestall any such damage to the printing, anoverlaminant layer may be advantageously applied over the printing toseal it from such damage. This layer will preferably be laminated to thecover material by methods well known to those in the art, but may alsobe adhesively adhered to the printed side of the cover material, orattached in any other way as may seem useful to those skilled in theart.

[0023] The overlaminant layer may be clear also, but may also be opaqueor even metalized (such as for instance a sheet of aluminized mylar) toprovide insulation to the container.

[0024] The removable fastening of the cover to the container may beeffected by one or more releasable closures. A preferred releasableclosure is a paired arrangement of hook and pile closures respectivelyattached to opposite ends of the cover material. They may be disposed assingle strips along the end (adjoining) edges of the cover, or as spacedclosure tabs along the adjoining edges of the cover. Alternatively, partof the closure pair may be attached to the container itself to forestallsliding of the cover on the container, and the opposite closure type maybe attached to one or both ends of the cover for removable fastening ofthe cover to the container.

[0025] Alternatively, the releasable closures may be paired magneticallyactive materials, such as two compatibly poled magnets, or a magnet anda strip of ferrous material. For ferrous bodied containers, it may onlybe necessary to provide a magnetic strip, or magnetic tabs (as describedabove) along adjoining edges of the cover for magnetic attachment of thecover to the container by the magnets. For non-ferrous container,including some stainless steel types, paired magnets, or a magnet andsteel strip combination, will be employed and attached to the cover asdescribed above for hook and pile closures for attaching the cover tothe container. In some embodiments, at least one part of the pair ofmagnetic materials is comprised of a magnet strip and the other part ofthe pair of magnetic materials is a ferrous container surface to whichthe magnet strip is attracted. In other embodiments, the pair ofmagnetic materials is comprised of a pair of magnet strips magneticallyattracted to each other.

[0026] The invention generally provides a removable wrap aroundcontainer cover of material providing independent resiliency. By“independent resiliency” it is generally meant that the materialreferred to thusly is capable of sustaining an impact, and even oftransmitting that impact through to the underlying container, where theimpact might cause surface damage to the container such as a dent, butwhereby material is capable of rebounding to or resuming its previousshape resiliently so that the cover material does not betray the damageto the container beneath. One way to achieve or preserve thisindependent resiliency is to forebear to adhere the cover material inany substantial way to the container itself.

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the invention will also have at leastone guide slot and tab pair with the tab on one end of the cover and theslot near to, or proximate, the opposite end of the cover and generallyaligned with its tab mate in a generally parallel way. A slot isproximate an end of the cover material to the extent that there isgenerally not more of the cover material between the slot or slots andthe end than is useful to preserver the physical integrity of the slotsthemselves on the one hand, and than is useful to effect a mating layer,for use when an optional adhesive material is provided on the contactingsurface of one or both of the slot/tab pair so that the tab(s) andmating layer may both or singly be pressed in the direction of thecontainer to be removably adhered to the cover material to form a securebut removable cover attachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028]FIG. 1 is a schematic rear plan view of the invention.

[0029]FIG. 2 is a schematic rear plan view of an alternate embodiment ofthe invention.

[0030]FIG. 3 is a partial cross section of the invention taken at line3-3 of FIG. 2.

[0031]FIGS. 4a-c is a schematic partial cross section of the invention.

[0032]FIG. 5 is a partial cross section of an alternate embodiment ofthe invention.

[0033]FIG. 6 is a front perspective elevation of the invention.

[0034]FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of an aspect of the assemblyof the invention.

[0035]FIG. 8 is a partial schematic cross section taken along line 8-8of FIG. 1.

[0036]FIG. 9 is a partial schematic cross section taken along line 9-9of FIG. 7.

[0037]FIG. 10 is a schematic rear plan view of an alternate embodimentof the invention.

[0038]FIG. 11 is a cross section taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0039] Turning now to the drawings, the invention will be described in apreferred embodiment by reference to the numerals of the drawing figureswherein like numbers indicate like parts.

[0040] In FIG. 1 removable display surface 10 is comprised ofindependently resilient cover 11 and releasable closure or fastenerpairs 12, 13, where fastener half 12 and fastener half 13 are generallymatable or detachable halves of a releasable closure system pair, suchas for instance a hook and pile type closure or paired magnets. It willbe appreciated that in many instances, the halves are interchangeable,which is not to say identical, but rather that part 12 may be either a“hook” strip for instance or a “pile” strip, and vice versa for part 13.In general, one half of the closure will be on one cover end 14 and theother half will be on the other cover end. In the case of hook and pileclosures, fastener half 12 will preferably be on the rear surface 16,while fastener half 13 will be disposed on the front surface 17 of cover11. Thus, as cover 11 is wrapped around container 80 (see FIG. 6),halves 12 and 13 are able to engage each other and removably fastencover 11 to container 80.

[0041] In this embodiment, though the cover is precisely fitted to itsintended container or container series, that fit is accommodated atleast in part by a careful overlap of ends 14 to the extent necessary toeffect the releasable engagement of fastener halves 12 and 13. It shouldbe noted that halves 12 and 13 are illustrated as groups of separatestrips; however, it will be advantageous in some applications to havefastener half 12 be a single long strip covering substantially the widthof cover end 14, and the same will be true for fastener half 13. Where aplurality of strips is employed, the respective mating opposite pairhalves will be aligned so that, upon mating engagement, the cover isclosed without appreciable skew in the mating of cover ends 14; that is,a cover 11 cut to cover a cylindrical container, for example, will closeinto a cylindrical shape, with ends 14 overlapping (where such overlapis required by the nature of the fastener) and more or less congruent.In FIG. 6, display surface 10 is wrapped around container 80 so thatfastener halves 12 and 13 engage their respective mates in the directionindicated by the arrows after cover ends 14 overlap.

[0042] The cut of cover 11 is also effected to accommodate the shape ofthe intended container, whether it be cylindrical or frusto-conical orother shape. Both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate covers cut to accommodatea frusto-conical container. In FIG. 1, the pronounced “waviness” of thetop and bottom edges of cover 11 are intended to illustrate therelatively more flexible nature of the woven fabric embodiment, asopposed to the relatively more rigid plastic sheet embodiment of FIG. 2.However, the aspect of back printing of graphical message 15 onto therear surface 16 of cover 11 is arbitrarily illustrated in FIG. 1,notwithstanding that fabric embodiments of the invention will generallynot be translucent to any appreciable extent and will rather be frontprinted. By the same token, the “window” aspect of the inventionillustrated in FIG. 2 by window 19 and label 18 may be advantageouslyemployed in either the sheet or fabric embodiments of the invention,though illustrated arbitrarily only in FIG. 2.

[0043]FIG. 12 illustrates a typical accommodation in the precise fit ofcover 11 for its container. In the example case of a beveragecontainer/dispenser having a conventional glass fill gauge and a pourspigot beneath, cover 11 is relieved by cut out 5 so that displaysurface 10 covers all of the sidewall surface of the container. Optionalhook or pile fastener halves 26 are appropriately placed to mate withcorresponding and respective pile or hook fastener halves affixed to thecontainer itself.

[0044]FIG. 8 illustrates and alternative construction for cover 11 inFIG. 1. Instead of one layer of fabric in cover 11, two layers are sewntogether: inner layer 31 and outer layer 32. Preferred outer layer (alsopreferred in there is only one layer) material is style 2020 200 denierripstop nylon; inner layer material is preferably style 6000 600 denierpolyester fabric.

[0045] In FIG. 2 a plastic sheet embodiment of the invention isillustrated. General Electric Lexan® brand plastic film is preferred inthis embodiment, though printing grades of vinyl sheeting may also bemade to serve. For the sake of simplicity of illustration, closurehalves 12 and 13 are not shown; however, it is to be understood that thereleasable fasteners described in reference to FIG. 1, or theirequivalents, may be employed in any other embodiment, whetherillustrated or not. Label 18 is preferably disposed on or overtransparent window 19 in cover 11 so that a message (not shown) on label18 disposed on the rear surface 16 of cover 11 may be viewed throughwindow 19 from the front surface 17 of cover 11. This arrangement isshown in partial cross section in FIG. 3.

[0046] Label 18 is preferably attached to the rear surface 16 of cover11 and over or behind window 19 with a pressure sensitive removableadhesive so that labels of differing message content may beinterchangeably disposed behind window 19 from time to time withoutdamage to cover 11 and without need for alternative label attachingmeans. Alternative label attaching means may however be employed withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Mounting label 18 behindwindow 19 provides the protection of a covering window to the variouslabels that may be placed behind any particular window. In practice, itwill be a simple matter to open cover 11, remove a label, and replace itwith a new label. It has been found that Flexcon (Seattle, Wash.) V400frosty clear V68 removable pressure sensitive adhesive adequatelyadheres label 18 to any part of rear surface 16, including window 19,while providing ease of removal of label 18 when it is time forreplacement. Preferred label material is Flexcon 90 PFW vinyl.

[0047]FIGS. 4a-c schematically illustrate the quality of independentresiliency of the invention. In FIG. 4a container wall 80 is obscured bycover 11. The cover appears smooth and unbroken to the viewer. In FIG.4b an impact force 99 strikes both cover 11 and, through it, tocontainer wall 80, causing a dent 81. If cover 11 were permanentlyadhered, or even adhered at all to wall 80, dent 81 would show to someextent in cover 11. This would also be true in other conventionalcovering systems. But in FIG. 4c, cover 11 appears much as it did beforethe impact of force 99, thus obscuring dent 81 and other surfaceimperfections in container wall 80. This might not hold true for forcesand impacts from sharp objects whose effect is to cut or tear cover 11,but for most relatively dull impact forces short of those tending todestroy the container itself, cover 11 will merely transmit such forces,not be changed by them.

[0048] In FIG. 5, an alternate embodiment of the sheet plasticembodiment is illustrated in schematic partial cross section. Cover 11is back printed with ink 22, except in the region of window 19. Over theink layer is preferably disposed overlaminant 21. Overlaminant 21provides enhanced resiliency to cover 11 and protects ink 22 fromabrasion against container 80 and from accidental damage while cover 11is removed, as for example when the container is being washed. Forembodiments not employing an overlaminant, conventional UV hardeninginks may be employed, and if protection from abrasion is desired withoutusing an overlaminant, then an air cure texture coat of Deco-Chem 7030abrasion matt small text may be applied to the back of the back printedgraphic ink layer.

[0049] In the case of overlaminant, conventional inks are preferred, asit has been noted that UV inks tend to release to the overlaminant andcause flaws or bubbles to appear from the front of the cover. Preferredoverlaminant material is Flexcon Flextwin MM-200 white/white metalizedmylar adhered to the cover sheet layer with TC-249, V-29, 1504-9adhesives or their equivalent. These adhesives provide a white backinglayer to obviate the need otherwise for a white coat behind the graphicdisplay ink. Alternatively, vinyl sheeting may also be used for theoverlaminant layer.

[0050]FIG. 10 shows an alternate configuration of the invention. Curvedwindow 19 is set amid cover 11 of display surface 10. Preferred magneticclosures 41 and 42 in the form of cover end width rubberized magneticstrips are adhered to the rear surface 16 of cover 11 proximate therespective cover ends 14. In some embodiments (not shown), magneticstrips 41 and 42 lie at or very near the cover ends and the cover iswrapped around a container having ferrous material walls so that themagnets adhere magnetically to the container walls, and the fitted cover11 fits precisely around the container without overlap, the magnetsmaintaining both closure of the seam whereat the two cover ends meet,but also thereby holding the cover to the container. This configurationis advantageous for ferrous bodied containers. For non-ferrous bodiesand some types of stainless steel, it is desirable for the magnet pairto be disposed for mating engagement with each other through selfadherence.

[0051] As these arrangement will sometimes permit slippage of cover 11both with respect to its grip on container 80 and also with respect toits own precise, unskewed alignment of its cover ends 14, especially insmooth or relatively featureless containers, the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 10 is preferred. In this embodiment, alignment tabs 23 and slots24 are provided. Some overlap is provided to effect the engagement ofrespective corresponding slots and tabs, and the positioning of themagnets 41 and 42 is adjusted, with magnet 41 near the tab end of thecover being preferably quite close to, but not overlapping, the tabs,and with magnet 42 being inside the line of slots 24, rather than beingso close to the other end 14 of cover 11, as shown. In thisconfiguration, as cover 11 is wrapped around its container (such as isshown in FIG. 6), tabs 23 come into engagement with and through slots24, thereby assuring complete and correct alignment of ends 14; at thesame time the magnets 41 and 42 adhere to container 80 and releasablyhold cover 11 to the container.

[0052]FIG. 11 shows a schematic cross section for the preferredplacement of magnets 41 and 42. As they are intended to adhere, not toeach other, but to the container, they are place on the same (inner)side of cover 11. As an alternate arrangement, providing formagnet-to-magnet engagement, magnets 41′ and 42′ are shown positioned onopposite sides of cover 11, and with magnet 42′ shifted relative to theposition of magnet 42 to be more proximate the cover end 14, wheremagnet 42′ is disposed between the cover end 14 and the line of slots24, so that, with appropriate overlap of cover ends 14, magnet 41′ mayengage magnet 42′ when cover 11 is wrapped around its container. Tabs 23have a roughly pointed and stepped design to facilitate insertion intoslots 24.

[0053]FIGS. 7 and 9 illustrate a variation on the guide tab and slotconfiguration of FIG. 10; FIG. 7 also shows the wrapped engagement oftabs 23 into slots 24. The alternate embodiment requires no hook andpile or magnet fasteners, but rather relies on the application ofremovable pressure sensitive adhesive 25 to the underside of tabs 23 andto the flap end of cover end 14 that lies between the cover end and theline of slots 24. After tabs 23 are fully inserted into slots 24,adhesive 25 is activated if required (such as by removing any protectivenon adhesive strip or strips), and the tabs and the flap end are allpressed inward (in the direction shown by the arrows) against wrappedcover 11 to securely, but releasably fasten cover 11 around container80. This configuration is particularly well suited to wrap covers forchildren's containers which must endure rugged usage, such as thermoses.

[0054] With regard to systems and components above referred to, but nototherwise specified or described in detail herein, the workings andspecifications of such systems and components and the manner in whichthey may be made or assembled or used, both cooperatively with eachother and with the other elements of the invention described herein toeffect the purposes herein disclosed, are all believed to be well withinthe knowledge of those skilled in the art. No concerted attempt torepeat here what is generally known to the artisan has therefore beenmade.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0055] A feasible and effective display surface which may be attached topublicly placed beverage containers or other containers is needed toadequately address the needs of current advertising and promotionalstandards. Such a display surface is most valuable if it is easily andreadily removable and possesses independent resiliency. Advertising maybe changed often, and the owner of the containers is never embarrassedat the physical condition of the containers themselves, covered as theyare by the display surface.

[0056] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been describedin language more or less specific as to structural features. It is to beunderstood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specificfeatures shown, since the means and construction shown comprisepreferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is,therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within thelegitimate and valid scope of the appended claims, appropriatelyinterpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

I claim:
 1. A container cover comprising a flexible sheet with agraphical display imprinted thereon, and a cover fastener for removablyfastening the cover to a container, and further wherein the sheet isadapted to substantially cover the side walls of the container.
 2. Thecover of claim 1 further comprising a window through the cover that istransparent and a label disposed between the container and the cover tobe viewed through the window.
 3. The cover of claim 1 wherein the coveris comprised of a woven fabric and the graphical display is imprinted ona front surface thereof.
 4. The cover of claim 3 further comprising asecond fabric layer.
 5. The cover of claim 1 wherein the cover iscomprised of a resilient translucent material.
 6. The cover of claim 5wherein the resilient material is a clear plastic sheet, and thegraphical display is imprinted on a rear surface thereof.
 7. The coverof claim 6 further comprising a window through the cover that istransparent and a label disposed between the container and the cover tobe viewed through the window.
 8. The cover of claim 6 further comprisingan overlaminant layer disposed to cover the graphical display imprintedon the rear surface of the clear plastic sheet.
 9. The cover of claim 8wherein the overlaminant layer is metalized to provide insulation to thecontainer.
 10. The cover of claim 1 wherein the cover fastener comprisesone or more releasable closures.
 11. The cover of claim 10 wherein atleast one of the releasable closures is further comprised of paired hookand pile closures.
 12. The cover of claim 10 wherein at least one of thereleasable closures is further comprised of a guide slot and tab pair,wherein the tab is on one end of the cover and the slot is proximate theopposite end of the cover and parallel to the tab.